


a mirror, a moon

by Meridas



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Afterlife, Gen, Hopeful Ending, bittersweet feelings, spoilers for c2 ep90
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22257991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meridas/pseuds/Meridas
Summary: Jester discovers a card. The Moonweaver cares very much.
Relationships: The Mighty Nein & Mollymauk Tealeaf, The Moonweaver & Mollymauk Tealeaf
Comments: 7
Kudos: 63





	a mirror, a moon

**Author's Note:**

> no beta, this snuck up on me. I'm having a lot of feelings about Molly's cards and everything.

Her moonbeam isn’t happy.

It’s something that She can sense, when one of the souls in Her care isn’t enjoying the rest or revelries of Her domain. She doesn’t play favorites, but She has been paying special attention to one soul, a little more lost than the others.

She finds him at the edge of a mirror-flat pool, one of the many places in Her domain where water reflects Her moonlight. Tonight he lacks his usual graceful sprawl—with his knees tucked up to his chest and his tail wrapped around his own waist, Her little lavender moonbeam looks very small indeed.

She settles down beside him, petting one hand through his hair. “Molly,” She says quietly, “what’s the matter?”

“I just wanted to check on Yasha,” he mumbles back. “And I—she’s okay. I’m glad she’s back with them, it’s just…” He runs his palm across his face, swiping away iridescent tears. She aches for him. No one should be unhappy in Her domain. Not all of Her followers died peaceful deaths, and not all of them finished all their business in life beforehand, but… Mollymauk is still new to this. And because of what happened to him in life, he’s one of the few souls here who is quietly desperate not to forget.

“Jester’s crying over my cards,” he says quietly. “And I just… I showed them to her before, I read them for her. I just didn’t mention that I made them, I guess. There’s just… an awful lot that I never did.” He blinks rapidly, then brings up a smile. For Her, he always has a smile, even when it looks like it hurts. “Sorry. I’ll be okay.”

She brushes the last tears from his cheeks. “You don’t have to apologize to me, little moonbeam. I understand. There are things that still tether you to them, and that’s alright.” She kisses his forehead gently. “Your tears are nothing to be ashamed of, but neither is contentment. Why don’t you go join the others? There is comfort in waiting without being alone.”

He thanks Her with a smile, and turns and walks back toward the more populated glade. She watches him go with a fond shake of Her head. He isn’t accustomed to the afterlife, still attached to his once-mortal form and customs. She looks deeply into the mirror pool once he is out of sight. Flashes of his friends swim along the water’s surface, a quiet aasimar, a brash young monk, among others. She spots a blue tiefling girl, not just melancholy but colored in regret.

Perhaps Mollymauk will not settle here because he is not meant to stay. Her followers lead interesting lives, after all, often full of twists and turns and second chances. If Her moonbeam’s story isn’t finished, She would like to see it play out.

She reaches out and nudges the deck of cards in the tiefling girl’s hands, one tiny push that barely even counts as a divine sign. The Moon card, Her card, turns over at the top of the deck, restored from its weather-beaten state atop a grave. Maybe the girl won’t see it right away—she doesn’t have Molly’s gifts, after all. But perhaps, when she’s ready, she’ll see the sign that Molly is waiting for them.


End file.
